Falling Down the Rabbit Hole
by PenSmith433
Summary: They had long been trapped in the dark, forsaken by most, but remembered by few. Soon there would be a reckoning and the whole World would know. Till the day when Spring smiled, when Summer danced, when Autumn laughed, and when Winter loved.
1. Chapter 1: In the Beginning

**Why am I starting another story? I really have no idea why. I've got exams, I've got revision, I've got other stories that desperately need to be sorted out as well, but here I am, writing a new story. Sigh. Oh well.**

**So I was watching the Snow Queen, the 2002 version, the one with Bridget Fonda as the Snow Queen, and ever since then I had this idea stuck in my head, twisting and turning into some type of plot. So I decided to write it all down, and it ended up as this. I have to say that I love the Snow Queen, and I've also always wanted to do a FemHarry story, so here's my attempt at one.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, and I suppose I have to say that the Snow Queen isn't mine either.**

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"_Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.  
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.  
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.  
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."_

_**Yoko Ono**_

Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

They were continuous, the cycle of seasons around and around, no ending of them and no stopping of the circle of life. They were forever and eternal...and always four. Four seasons to encompass the earth for their elected time. They were without end, always turning and changing, ultimately returning to rule the world. Spring: the birth of life. Summer: the continuation of life. Autumn: the beginning of death. And Winter...Winter ruled over the barren land. No life growing, no warmth permeating the ground. Nearly dead to all. But always necessary. The reminder of the need for balance in the world.

And so it came to pass that a mirror was constructed, each shard carefully charmed, each corner imbued with the magic of the ages, powerful magic to create a most beautiful work of art. It shone with the radiance of a thousand setting sun, sparkled like moonbeams dancing on a frozen lake and glittered like the heart of a diamond. All who beheld it were awed with the majesty of such a mirror and all that looked upon the shining silver glass were shown the secrets and desires of their heart.

However the sorcerer who created this mirror was a cold man, who had nothing but death and bitterness deep in his heart. He was a powerful wizard, young and strong, sought by kings and emperors for their courts, but he desired only power above all else, and thinking to be greater than the seasons themselves. He took the mirror, hiding it from sight and travelled east to the cottage where the Spring Witch lived.

Spring welcomed him gladly, unaware of the plan that resided in his dark heart. She was an innocent child, full of imagination and wonderment that Spring brings to the earth. The cottage that she lived in was blooming with blossoms, but as he passed them, they withered away. Spring didn't notice, for it was almost time for Summer to take over the world, the blossoms dropped off the trees almost every day.

The cold sorcerer showed Spring the mirror, and the season looked in the mirror and saw the joys and delights of spring, the birth of the animals, and the creation of life. She saw the growth of the new flowers, and new sun shining in the sky after months of snow after winter. She saw herself walking through the flowers and the fields. A pain bloomed in her chest, and she felt her heart rip to pieces. She pulled her gaze away from the scene in the mirror to look at the man. A cruel smile curled around his mouth as she felt herself fade from the real world, pulled into the dreams of the mirror. And so it came to pass that Spring faded from the earth, leaving only a pale representation behind her.

Next, the sorcerer took his mirror west, to the palace of the Summer Princess, where he was received gladly by the whole court, for they had heard of the mirror that he had created to show all what they truly desired. This time Summer gazed upon the mirror, and saw the secrets and wonders of midsummer. The corn grew in the fields, the warmth of the burning sun high above them and the children that ran along the winding roads. Summer saw herself surrounded by her friends, revelling in the middle of a festival.

Once again, a pain spread throughout her body, and she fell to the ground in front of the mirror, and the whole of her court watched as their princess disappeared from their sight, a hoarse scream echoing in the air. They turned towards the sorcerer, intent on revenge, but he had disappeared south taking the mirror with him. And so it came to pass that Summer withered away, only an imprint of her power remaining on the earth.

The sorcerer had achieved in trapping two seasons and knew that he had only two more to ensnare. And so he moved south to where the Autumn Robber resided with her band of thieves. Once again, the season greeted the sorcerer warmly, recognising him as a man that shared her band's attributes. She made him welcome amongst her troupe, and promised him a warm meal in exchange to see the mirror that had travelled even as far south that they were, not realising that the mirror would be her undoing.

As Autumn gazed into the mirror, she smiled at the sight of the falling red leaves, and the sight of the rich harvest that was gathered up. She smelled the scent of the roasting meat over the fire and felt the heat of the bonfire that spat sparks of red high in the end. Autumn saw herself surrounded by her band, toasting and drinking, celebrating the end of another year. She was far too engrossed in the image of her desires that she didn't realise her fading from the earth, and when she did...it was too late. And so it came to pass that Autumn disappeared from the world with only a sigh, leaving the falling leaves behind her.

The sorcerer smirked in triumph. He had trapped three of the four seasons, and now turned his gaze to the north to where the Winter Queen resided in her castle. He spirited the mirror and himself to where he knew the castle lay. This time there was no warm welcome from any of the court within the majestic building, for although they loved with a frozen passion they were mistrustful of visitors and knew that the sorcerer did not hold any love in his heart.

He was presented to the Winter Queen, a young woman who was as pale as the snow that lay across her land, and hair as dark as a raven's wing. He invited her to look into his mirror, telling her of its achievements and the magic that was imbued in it, thinking that all that Winter would see would be the essence of her power, Winter stretching on forever.

Winter drifted towards the mirror, pulling the covering off the magical object and looked deep into what it would show her. She did indeed see the crisp frost of winter, and the barren trees that represented all that she could do within her realm. But she also desired to see her sisters, and the mirror showed them to her. And she knew that something was wrong when the images in the reflected glass called out for help. She whirled around, looking towards the sorcerer demanded an explanation, but it was too late...she had looked in the mirror and she could already feel herself fading the world.

In an act of defiance, so like the season that she was, Winter summoned her all the magic that her power gave her and threw it into the mirror. The two different magics collided together and shattered the magic glass into a thousand tiny shards. The sorcerer collapsed to the ground, his power broken, and surrounded by the pieces of the object that held his magic and he could feel his life draining from him.

Winter knelt next to him, knowing that his life was draining as fast as hers was, "You will be cursed," she told him, "For your actions your soul will never be able to rest. You always will be reborn, and shunned by society for who you are. You will always be an outsider," she raised his head up to look at her, "Unless you can find another to love you for who you are, and to accept all your flaws, and all your sins in every life. And you love them back with every fibre of who you are. That is the price for trapping my sisters, that is the price for trapping me,"

The sorcerer merely looked at her, his lip curling in anger but it was too late for him. He closed his eyes, and felt his soul leave his body, but when it came to reach the Doors of Death, he found that he was prevented from reaching the afterlife. Instead his soul was pulled towards a new body, forced to live another life, his mind wiped of the memories of his previous life.

Winter was left in the frozen hall of her castle, her energy spent and growing close to leaving the world. Her faithful servant came across her, and rushed towards her, but Winter waved a hand preventing her from helping, "This goodbye is inevitable," she said, "I am already fading from this world," the servant wept bitterly at those words, "Do not cry, my dear friend, for one day, we will all be together again and there will be a Reckoning like no other. Until then, we seasons will be left as imprints on this earth,"

And so it came to pass that Winter left the world with parting words, leaving only a remnant of herself behind in the snow and the ice.

* * *

Year 1000 A.D

Hogwarts Castle

"What is on your mind, my dear Rowena?" Godric Gryffindor demanded as he walked towards the woman who was situated next to the lake, "You have been so melancholic these past days that Helga and I are quite worried for your health," he sat next to her, "What is troubling you?"

"Can you not feel it?" she asked him, waving a hand at the scenery around them, "The utter helplessness of this world?" Gryffindor frowned in concern at her words, "Once the seasons were something to be feared and loved. Now there is only a weak imitation left," her shoulders slumped, "When will the seasons come back and show the world of what they can do?" she looked at her companion, "When will we be able to return to those days where wizards were able to walk without being persecuted?"

"Not in our lifetime," Gryffindor answered gruffly, "There is too much prejudice between our races to be able to truly be able to bridge the two worlds," he looked at the lake, "You realise that these are just fairytales. We can never be sure that they are real," the witch nodded softly; "I understand where you are coming from. There will be a time where wizards and Muggles will be joined together again, we just have to wait and see what will happen,"

"Let us only hope that it will be soon," Ravenclaw told him, "Because I think if the seasons remain out of this world, continuing to be trapped in the netherworld, then the whole world will be thrown out of the natural cycle and we will be in danger of extinction," she looked at her old friend, "But I sense that you yourself are despondent and upset about something,"

Gryffindor sighed deeply, "Salazar has decided to leave the castle," he answered her, "He will not listen to me on the subject of letting all of magical blood into the castle to be taught. He won't be persuaded on that score and thinks that leaving is the best option,"

"Poor Salazar," Rowena murmured, "He always feels like the outsider, and always takes the opposite view to the rest of us," she shrugged, "Perhaps it is best that he leaves, at least for a while. He might be able to fin whatever he is looking for. Is his wife going with him?" Gryffindor snorted in derision, "Poor girl, married with a baby and already her husband is leaving without her," she shook her head, "Perhaps this would never had happened if he had married a woman who he had loved, rather than married for convention,"

"But then, my dear Ravenclaw...he would not be Salazar Slytherin," the two Founders of Hogwarts rose, walking towards the majestic castle behind them, "One day perhaps he will see that we are his friends and are always there if he needs help,"

They entered the hallway of the castle, both smiling at the sight of their friend: Hufflepuff, walking towards them, "Rowena, Godric, please," she entreated them, "Salazar will not listen to me, and is determined to leave the castle within the hour. He has already packed most of his belongings," she looked at both her friends, "Please will you both speak to him. There needs to be no fighting amongst us,"

"We will try, Helga, but if Salazar is determined to leave the castle then it is not for us to tell him to leave," Ravenclaw pacified the other woman, "I desperately hope that he will remain with us, but we can't force him to do anything,"

"Thank you for being so understanding," a cold voice echoed behind them and they turned to see the last member of their quartet, "I apologise if I have caused you any undue pain, Helga, but I will not stay here when my opinions are not allowed due consideration," the cold man looked at Gryffindor, who looked remorseful, "I stand by my beliefs that we must only admit those that have magical blood. If we allow too many of those with Muggle blood and Muggle culture then it will cause a degradation of Wizarding beliefs and I will not stand by to see that happen,"

"I will not argue with you on this, my friend, you already know my beliefs," Gryffindor answered gruffly, "I refuse to discriminate amongst those that are able to choose magic, but I did not wish for you to leave this castle," the other man did not answer him, "I hope that you will chose to come back one day,"

"Perhaps," Slytherin replied, "I too wish that we could have solved this amicably, but I can see that there is no persuading you," he moved past the trio, "Farewell," Hufflepuff summoned up a weak smile but it quickly faded when Slytherin apparated away.

"I wish that there was something that we could do," Hufflepuff whispered, "I wish he wasn't so stubborn and could see that we are his friends,"

"Helga," Ravenclaw placed a hand on her close friend's shoulder, "It is his choice," the three remaining founders turned to walk into the castle, "I have a feeling that the day that the soul of Salazar Slytherin is thawed is the day that the seasons return to rule the earth once more,"

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1979 A.D

Hog's Head Inn

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...__ Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...__"_ Dumbledore studied the woman as she suddenly became aware of the world, "Is anything the matter, Headmaster?"

Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, and possessor of numerous other titles, was now caught in a dilemma. He was sure of what he had heard was a valid prophecy to destroy the Dark Lord, but he wasn't sure on who it would mean. And only two minutes ago he hadn't even considered on taking Madame Trelawney up on her offer to teach Divination at the school. However he only had one option to take if the prophecy was valid, "Madame Trelawney, I would be delighted if you would take the position as Professor of Divination at Hogwarts," he told the woman.

"I am very glad that you have seen that Divination is a subject that is of the most importance, Headmaster," she said, drawing herself up, "Seeing the future is a very precise Art and you know, only the Eye can reveal what lies in store for us mere mortals,"

The Headmaster smiled wryly to himself, "Indeed, Madame Trelawney," he murmured, thinking on what she had just revealed to him, "I hope you will await my owl which I will send as soon as it is convenient for me to send it to you," she nodded, clearly satisfied in gaining the position. Or perhaps she had always known that he would have given it to her. He had never bothered to study the subject in much depth, "I bid you goodnight, Madame,"

He turned towards the door.

"_They are returning,"_ the words made him stop. Two prophecies made by the same Seer in the space of five minutes. It was almost unheard of. He looked back at the woman, _"They will bring the storm in their wake, changing the world as they go...the one that was cursed will be cured and all will tremble at the Reckoning of the world. Innocence, exuberance, reverence and perseverance will be revealed. And all who gaze upon them shall know...They are returning,"_ She smiled suddenly, "I thought you were leaving, Headmaster,"

"I am, merely running through my thoughts," he told the woman, bowing his head and stepping outside the room. This day seemed to be becoming more and more peculiar. He walked back down the rickety steps to the bar below, nodding slowly to his brother, before making his way over to his Deputy, "I think that will be all, Tom," he told the man who looked at him, slowly, "Madame Trelawney has been accepted as a professor for Divination. I'm sure she will be a superb addition to our staff,"

"As you wish, Headmaster," the man replied coldly, and they made their way out of the inn, and back towards the castle, "I only wondered how it came that you changed your mind so rapidly. I didn't think you were particularly interested in having Divination taught at Hogwarts,"

"No matter," Dumbledore waved his hand lazily, "I just had second thoughts about the appointment. She seems to be sincere, and of course we need to extend the amount of courses that students can select in their second year. It will all work out for the best. Don't you agree?" he looked at his companion hard.

Tom Riddle smiled coldly, silently trying to deduce what exactly had determined the other man's behaviour. He relented slightly, "Of course," he answered, turning towards the majestic castle that loomed over the small village, "I'm sure you are right,"

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**So what did people think? First chapter and all that.**

**Next time: James and Lily, and Early Life.**


	2. Chapter 2: Love's Death

**New chapter! I've been loving the support already with this story already. So glad that people are interested in it. SimplySibyl, thank you so much for your review. It made me walk around all day with a smile.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine.**

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_In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan,  
Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;  
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,  
In the bleak midwinter, Long ago.  
_**_Christina G. Rossetti_**

August 1981  
Godric's Hollow

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. If that mockingbird don't sing, mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. If that diamond ring turns brass, mama's gonna buy you a looking glass"

"Lily," the red haired woman looked over to her husband who stood in the door, "She should get her rest, we don't want her to get agitated tomorrow," Lily Potter stood up, smiling softly at the wide eyed baby in the cot, "She'll still be here when you go back to her tomorrow," she nodded, walking towards her husband, and he folded her in his arms, "You should know that Dumbledore is here," she stiffened visibly, "I promise you that he won't take her away," he insisted, "But we have to look at all the options,"

"He wants to take her away," Lily replied sharply, "He wants to take my baby away,"

"Lily, no one is going to take her away, he just wants to make sure that we are all safe from the Dark Lord and that no one can take her away ever again. Not Dumbledore, not Voldemort, not even the Ministry of Magic. Remember that," James told his wife who nodded silently, "Come on, Dumbledore is just going to run us through a few options and then...we can take it from there,"

They walked downstairs together, and Lily smiled hesitantly at the sight of the old Headmaster who beamed at both of them, "It's good to see you again, Lily," he said, "I do apologise for intruding into your evening but it is rather important that I talk to you,"

"Of course, Headmaster," Lily wrapped her cardigan around her firmly, "Please sit down," they all took their seats in the living room, "I'm not going to let you take Eira away from us, Dumbledore. I won't let her be taken away for someone else to look after her. She's my baby and she's going to stay with me,"

"I wouldn't dream of separating a mother and child, Lily," Dumbledore smoothed over, "But we must make sure that you and your family are perfectly safe from any harm that Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters might bring. You are both prominent members of the Order of the Phoenix and therefore a legitimate target for Voldemort, if he chooses to turn his gaze upon you,"

"There are many people that Voldemort might attack," James pointed out, "The McKinnons were murdered just the other week if I recall. They didn't have protection; I hope you're not just giving it to us,"

"The Longbottoms are safely protected as are the Weasleys," Dumbledore assured him, "Rest assured that I am trying to make sure that everyone is safe from the Death Eaters and any other attack that they might encounter," the old man placed his hands together, "There is the matter of Eira, you wouldn't want her to be placed in any harm's way due to your position with the Order, naturally,"

The two parents looked at each other, "We were considering the Fidelius Charm," Lily told him, "The Dark Lord would never be able to get past the wards that would be in place due to the charm,"

"That's a very good idea, and it's also the charm that the Longbottoms are under currently," Dumbledore nodded slowly, "Indeed it would be a very wise idea to put it in place as soon as possible. If I would be so bold as to offer myself as your Secret Keeper. There is no doubt that I would not tell Voldemort where this house is,"

"No," James surprised himself by interrupting the Headmaster vehemently, "I'm sorry, Headmaster," he pressed on, "But we have both talked over this with each other and we were thinking of Sirius to be the Secret Keeper. I know that he would rather die than tell Voldemort where this house was," he clutched one of Lily's hands, "I know that he wouldn't betray us,"

"If you are sure with that decision," Dumbledore answered calmly, although his outward expression was one of worry and slight disapproval, "I know Sirius is a trustworthy man after all. I only worry if he is captured by the Death Eaters and tortured. Are you sure that he would still remain mute about where you are. Torture can break the most courageous of men if they are forced for long enough," James merely nodded, "Then I hope you will perform the charm as soon as it is possible for you to do,"

"We will," Lily told him, and they all stood up, "I know that we have argued over this matter, Headmaster, but I know you have our protection at the forefront of your mind,"

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled kindly at her, "The Fidelius should work well on this house, and I am sure that Sirius will provide as an adequate Secret Keeper," he sighed deeply, "But you know of course, the prophecy,"

"You said yourself that the prophecy stated that it was a boy born at the end of July to parents who had defied the Dark Lord three times," Lily interrupted him, "I know that Eira was born at the end of July, but she's a girl. Voldemort might try and target us because we're in the Order but when it concerns the prophecy, the only candidate seems to be Neville, who is under safe protection," she sighed, "We only want what is best for Eira; we won't do anything that will split her up from us,"

"I know," the older man just looked exhausted, "You know that I only want to keep as many people safe as possible," Lily and James nodded slowly, "I will call on you both in a few days, to make sure that all is well. These are dark times as well," they moved to the hallway, and Lily frowned at the stillness of the night. There was something wrong with the darkened street, "Oh before I forget," Dumbledore smiled at them, "There will be an Order meeting on the twentieth of September as well. I will see you both there, you both know the location," and with that the grey haired man walked out onto the street and disappeared from sight.

Lily stayed looking at the sky silently, "We should go in," James said, frowning as well, "It's getting cold,"

"Yeah," Lily answered distantly, "But don't you think that something's wrong?" she broke her gaze to look at her husband, "Don't you think that something bad is going to happen? Like this is just the calm before the thunderstorm? It doesn't feel right,"

James tried to smile at the words, "You've been thinking over the war for too long," he dismissed, "Soon you'll let it get to you," he shut the door, "Nothing is going to happen to us, Lily. I promise you that we're going to be all right. We're going to get through this. You, me and Eira all together," he hugged her tightly, "And after all this is over, you and I are going to laugh about how silly we were for worrying so much. Yes, people are dying, but I swear to you, I won't let anything happen to either of my girls,"

"Da," they turned around to see the small child on the stairs, waving a fist at them, "Da,"

"You see, even Eira agrees," James smiled, swooping down to pick up the small girl who giggled, "Although how she managed to get out of her cot," he looked at the red haired woman, "Did you remember to shut it properly?"

"Yes I did," Lily went over to them, and the little girl grabbed her long hair, waving it triumphantly in her fist, "She did the same thing the other day while Sirius was round here. I'll check it when I put her to bed," James passed Eira over, "We are going to be fine, aren't we, James?"

"Of course we are,"

Lily smiled, walking up the stairs, already crooning lightly to her baby, "If that looking glass get broke, Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat," Eira wriggled slightly, "If that billy goat don't pull, mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull,"

* * *

31st October 1981  
Godric's Hollow

"Everything all right here?"

Lily looked at the two sitting on the sofa, and smiled at the sight of James producing large streams of bubbles and Eira trying to catch them firmly in her hand, only to have them pop over her. The intensity on her face as she tried to catch one was amusing. James smiled at her, "We're all right, Eira's trying to catch a bubble with her bare hands. I don't think she's going to give up soon," another burst bubble and the girl frowned at the air, "Keep going, kid, and you're almost there," he looked back at Lily, "She'll be a great seeker, very good at catching,"

"You're not going to take her on a broomstick until she's at least eight," Lily warned him with a smile, "She's already a menace on the toy broomstick. I don't think that cat has ever really been the same since she first got it. I'm sure that Sirius is pleased," she looked out of the window, "Where is he tonight?"

"Checking on Peter," James answered, and she shot a worried smile, "He said he should be over in about half an hour, he's only making sure that Peter is fine and has enough food. He wants to see his favourite goddaughter, doesn't he?" he directed the question back to Eira.

"Da," was the reply.

They both laughed, "Da is right," James tickled Eira and she let out a squeal of laughter, "Always listen to Da, Eira," he looked at his wife who was smiling secretively at them, still positioned in the door frame, "What's so funny, Mummy?"

"You," she told him going back into the kitchen, "You know that Da is the only word she can say at the moment," she pulled out a couple of wine glasses and brought them into the living room, "She's growing up so fast. Seems not long ago she was still an idea in my mind. Now she's over a year old, and she's growing every day," she shook herself out of it, "Wine?" James nodded and she poured two glasses, "Time for her bedtime soon,"

At that prompting, Eira yawned loudly, before bursting another bubble, "I think I agree with you," James laughed, and there was a clatter from outside. Both of their head's whipped towards the window, "Is there anything out there?" James asked quickly and Lily went over to look outside.

"I can't see anything," she murmured, "But it's so dark out there that anyone could hide in the shadows," she chuckled nervously, "It must have just been the wind, you know how the gate creaks so much if we've left it unlatched," James smiled but it was a false smile, and a tenseness had entered the room, "The Death Eaters can't have found this house. We're under the Fidelius, and there's no way that Peter would have told them where we are. It's just the wind,"

"Of course," James replied, "Just the wind," he looked down, "Lily, I think we should consider the possibility of sending Eira somewhere else just for the war period because it's getting too dangerous for her. We're targets and I don't want anything to happen to her just because we were too foolish to think out the consequences,"

"My sister hates magic," Lily informed him roughly, "So we aren't sending her there. Molly and Arthur already have far too many mouths to feed. Putting her with Alice and Frank is risking a death sentence for all of us because of that damn prophecy. I don't think that placing Eira anywhere else is a sensible idea," James nodded, mollified by the argument, "You know I want the best for her as well,"

"I don't doubt that Lily, but there is a..." now there was a definite clatter outside, and they froze, "Lily, put Eira in her cot upstairs," the red haired woman quickly plucked the girl from her husband's arms, walking quickly upstairs. James pulled out his wand, looking out of the window again. He couldn't see anything but like Lily had said earlier, it was just pitch black outside. Perfect cover for people wearing black cloaks which covered their faces. A hand was placed on his back and he almost threw out a curse before he saw it was Lily, "Don't do that again," he said, "Scared the living daylights out of me,"

"Sorry," she whispered, "You can't see anything?" he shook his head, "False alarm maybe, the cat trying to catch a mouse or something," she was lowering her wand, "I can't live like this for much longer, James, I-I-I'll go mad with stress,"

"It won't be for much longer, I'm sure," James said, "You know that the tide is-"

There was a sudden sound of breaking wood, and the two Gryffindors looked at each other, gripping their wands simultaneously and charging into the hallway. Dust filled the hall that they were in and there immediately there was a green light shooting towards them. James pushed Lily out of the way roughly as the curse passed them by a few precious centimetres and threw up a shield to deflect another oncoming spell. A high pitched cackle came from the advancing line.

"Lily, get upstairs. Barricade yourself in the room," James shouted at his wife, "I'll hold them off," his wife's green eyes met his, so like their daughter and she nodded, running up the stairs. James turned back towards the oncoming Death Eaters, "Here we go again,"

Lily ran into the room, piling boxes up against the door. She picked up Eira who was staring at her mother in what appeared to be surprise and fear, "Don't worry, baby," she crooned to the girl, "Everything is going to be fine. Hush little baby, don't say a word," she could hear the fight going on down below, and every instinct screamed at her to run in and help her husband, "Mama's going to buy you a mocking bird," there were people on the stairs and she could only pray that it was James, "If that mockingbird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring,"

The door burst open and Death Eaters swarmed into the room, "Put the baby down, Mudblood," one of them called out to her, "Don't want to hurt the pretty baby do we?" Lily held Eira closely to her, "I said, put the baby down, Mudblood,"

Lily froze as James was pulled in the room, bleeding from a cut above his eye, a wand at his temple, "James!" she shouted, stepping involuntarily forward and prevented by half a dozen wands.

"I won't ask you again, Mudblood, put the baby down," Lily looked at James who nodded swiftly and she placed Eira in her cot, and standing in front of it protectively. They might have made her put Eira down, but she would be damned if she moved away from her baby, "Isn't this sweet," the same Death Eater appeared to be talking, "All the family together for one last time," Lily's blood ran cold at that statement, and from James' expression he knew what the Death Eater meant as well, "All alone and pitiful without any help from your precious Order,"

"You're doing too well yourself," James retorted, "How many Death Eaters does your Lord hang behind, getting you to do his dirty work? Clearly he mustn't think well of you if he's sent seven Death Eaters to finish off two of us and a baby,"

"I didn't realise that I needed a limit on the number of Death Eaters I need to do a job," a cold voice echoed in the doorway, and both the Gryffindors froze at the sound of it, "But you have escaped from my Death Eaters far too many times before. I thought to overestimate your abilities, rather than underestimating them,"

Lord Voldemort stepped into the room, his red eyes gleaming around the room. Lily couldn't help but feel sickened at the sight of him. He was white as bone, like Eira, but the paleness just made him look gaunt rather than cold which was what Eira look like. His nose had completely gone, replaced by slits that resembled a snake, and he possessed no hair. How anyone could possibly do that to themselves, Lily didn't know. But Voldemort just looked...wrong. An anomaly in this world, something that shouldn't be present. And of course, his burning red eyes were gleaming in his face. All Lily wanted to do was grab Eira and run as fast as she could away from the house.

"Lord Voldemort," she replied sarcastically, "What a pleasure it is to have you in our home," somewhere deep inside of her, a fierce courage was building. She was not going to stand down from protecting her daughter, a baby. She want not going to let these Death Eaters see her crumble and fall, "You couldn't have knocked? Apparently manners are lost on you and your...retinue,"

Most of the Death Eaters hissed in anger at her words, and Lily saw James smile softly at those words. Voldemort merely laughed coldly, "Bravery...is futile," he told her, "You are going to die here, both of you. Maybe if you bow and plead mercy, I might...make it quick for you,"

"I wouldn't bow to you even if you were Emperor of the World," she spat at him, "I am not going to beg for mercy to a man that clearly has not a single iota of humanity in his body," she realised that she was shaking, "I am not going to let you kill my daughter,"

"Why would I want to kill your daughter, she is unimportant," Voldemort waved an impatient hand, "Never let it be said that Lord Voldemort is without mercy," James laughed scornfully, "I have been made aware of part of the prophecy that decrees that a child will bring about my destruction, but that I believe refers to a boy," he gestured, "Now...kneel," Lily refused to move, and two Death Eaters grabbed her arms, forcing her down to her knees, "That wasn't too hard, was it?" she spat at his feet, and was promptly struck by a curse. She felt her mouth fill with blood as she bit down on her lip to stop herself from screaming. When it was lifted she spat the coppery liquid out, grimacing at the taste, "My advice would for you to not do that again,"

"No one of any right mind would kneel to you willingly," she told him, "Not now, not ever,"

"Humans are like sheep," he bent towards her, "They follow the strongest leader. When that leader appears to fail then they switch their allegiance," he smirked a terrible smile, "How long do you think Dumbledore will last? When do you think that he will start to fail? And when he does...you place your faith...in me. In the end, you will always kneel,"

"Not to men like you," James spat from his position.

Voldemort turned to him, "Then it is a pity that you will not live to see that day," he answered, "You have defied me three times, and it is only because you have a daughter that I didn't immediately kill you both," he laughed again, "But I am afraid that Lady Luck has lost the battle against Fate. What are your last words, James? Will you plead for mercy?"

"Never," James shook his head, suddenly perfectly calm as only a man who is about to face his execution could be. He looked at Lily, "You know I love you, Lily," he said, and tears pricked in Lily's eyes, "Always have, always will. Death won't change that,"

"Da," Eira spoke from behind Lily, and James mustered a smile in the direction of his daughter, "Ma...Da," Any other time and Lily would have smiled at the arrival of Eira's new word. But somehow her daughter knew that something bad was about to happen and she didn't like it.

"I love you, Eira," James said slowly and almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, a green light enveloped him and he slumped to the ground, his life force spent. Lily opened her mouth in a silent scream of pain, tears running down her face, but she didn't move. If the last thing that she was going to do in this world was going to be in her daughter's bedroom then she was going to protect her daughter against everything they threw at her.

"Will you bow down now, Lily Potter?" Voldemort asked her calmly, "Your husband is dead; your death is moments away. Why not bend your neck to those that will always be above you," Lily looked up at him, before shaking the two Death Eaters that held onto her off, and stood up, "And you would rather die standing,"

"I die protecting my daughter," she told him, "And I will do anything to stop you from hurting my daughter," she laughed, tears running down her face, "So kill me, Voldemort, because death doesn't frighten me. You can kill me, but don't hurt my daughter,"

"Is that your final word?" he asked, "I promise you that your daughter will not die here today," he levelled his wand at her, "Final words, Lily Potter. Perhaps you loved not wisely but too well. You might have lived a longer life if you had chosen a different path," he chuckled, "But too late for moralising. Final words?"

Lily closed her eyes, feeling the calm stretch over her, the same calm that must have enveloped James before he was about to die. It didn't disturb her, she wasn't frightened. She was standing strong, she wasn't bowing to the man in front of her, "I love you, Eira," she said, and a flash of green erupted behind her eyelids, and suddenly, she knew no more.

_I love you, Eira_

* * *

**Depressing ending, but necessary. I did wonder whether to continue it on, but it seemed like such a good place to end it that I thought: why not. It means I have my beginning for the next chapter.**

**Tell me what to think.**

**Next Time: Boa Constrictors, Dursleys and Figurines**


	3. Chapter 3: And So It Begins

**So I didn't get around to writing about 1991. That had been the plan and then everything went a bit pear shaped in that regard. It will happen next chapter, I promise. I just like to make sure that there's a proper background so I don't get confused and you don't get confused. If you do get confused, then my apologies. I'm slightly proud of myself that I've updated weekly, I'm not good with deadlines usually, so we're doing well so far.**

**Thank you to all those that have placed this story on their alert list. I've never been happier.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

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_Every mile is two in winter  
__**George Herbert**_

November 1st 1981  
Hogwarts Castle

"You think that I can't look after her, Dumbledore!"

The shout roused the small child who was asleep on a bed in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts Castle. Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall glared towards the door where four men were standing by the open door. Professor McGonagall had a handkerchief balled in her hand, and every now and again she would dab at her eyes. Madame Pomfrey wasn't much better and her hand was sodden with tears that she had desperately tried to wipe away. Both of them were too tired to properly intervene in the argument that had broken out in the hall of Hogwarts between Remus Lupin and the Headmaster. Needless to say the two women were surprised to hear such a harsh tone from the meek werewolf.

"I don't question your ability to look after Eira," Dumbledore was frustrated. This argument had the tone that it had been waging for a long time, and the air of sentences being repeating, "But Remus you have to remember your condition. The girl is only a child, and if something...even if it a small accident, then you'll subject Eira to a painful life. Do you want that for her?"

"Of course I don't," the werewolf snarled back at him, "But what you are considering is almost as worse. You think that Lily's sister will willingly take Eira in and treat her properly? Lily says that Petunia hates magic and all those that have it. I won't allow James and Lily's daughter to be subjected to any type of mistreatment that she'll receive there,"

"I am sure that Petunia will look after her sister's only daughter, Remus," Dumbledore replied tolerantly and both Remus and Snape scoffed lightly at that, before sharing a mistrustful look at each other, "This is not a day for arguments and fractures,"

"You're telling me that?" Remus demanded, almost apoplectic with rage. He was not going...he did not want Eira with Petunia, "Two of my best friends are dead, killed by Voldemort and his bloody Death Eaters! Sirius is missing, and I don't know where the hell Peter has ended up! And you're telling me that this day is not for arguments?" he pointed at the Headmaster accusingly; "You said that you would keep them safe, you said that they would be safe behind the Fidelius! And what? The protection was only in place a week," he laughed humourlessly, "And now you tell me that Sirius was their Secret Keeper and sold them out to Voldemort,"

"As much as I dislike agreeing with Lupin," Snape drawled slowly, "Potter and Black were inseparable, close enough to be brothers. Black as I recall ran away from his family to live at the Potter house. It does seem ludicrous that Black would sell out to the Dark Lord,"

"Lily and James told me explicitly that Sirius would be their Secret Keeper," Dumbledore told them calmly, "I have no reason not to believe them. I offered to be their Secret Keeper myself but they refused. They said that Sirius would never tell Lord Voldemort. It appears that mistake has cost them their lives," he sighed deeply, "You have no idea how much I regret this day, Remus. It is a deep tragedy for nearly a whole family to be wiped out like that. They were too young to die,"

"Why do you think that Voldemort left Eira alone?" Remus asked, "He killed nearly the whole of the Bones family including the children of Edgar Bones. I'm thankful that Eira is still alive, but it doesn't explain why she is still alive,"

Dumbledore looked at the two Slytherins, standing next to them, "Don't look at me, I have no idea," Snape said, "I wouldn't want to guess at what goes through the Dark Lord's mind," he raised his shoulder and dropped them tiredly, covering his painful anguish underneath a mask of stone, "Perhaps it's the same reason why the Dark Lord didn't kill part of the Bones family. Susan Bones is still alive, I believe, and she was with the rest of the Bones family,"

"Or perhaps he thought the girl was unimportant," Riddle added bored, "Just like the Bones girl. He clearly made his point which was killing the Potters. Is there any reason to think that there was another reason for sparing the daughter?"

"Perhaps Voldemort just did not want to end a prominent pureblood line," Dumbledore finished musingly, "Either way we will never know," he smiled sadly, "You know that Petunia is the most sensible option, Remus. The War isn't over just yet," Remus slumped, "You will want to say goodbye to Eira before she goes off to her Aunt's," the man nodded tightly before walking into the Hospital Wing smiling slightly as Eira looked over with a wide grin on her face.

She held up her arms in a demand to be picked up, and Remus did so. He looked at the small child who looked back with her mother's eyes, "Don't worry, Eira, everything is going to be fine," he told her, "Everything will be fine," she just looked at him, "Has she spoken at all since she was here?"

"Not a thing," Madame Pomfrey answered him, "I'm not an expert but I think she is probably in shock, or something similar. I'm not sure whether babies that young can go into shock. She just looks at everything. It'll probably take a while before she properly adjusts to not seeing Lily or James. It'll certainly confuse her," Remus nodded, "Do you think that Petunia will look after her?"

He sighed, "I have no idea, Madame Pomfrey," he admitted, "Lily and James didn't have any contact with them since James and Lily went to their wedding. Lily always said that they didn't have the best of relationships, but..." he looked at Eira, "Maybe she'll remember her sister and be kind to Eira. Who knows what the future might hold for them?" he looked down at the floor, "If Sirius was here then everything would be able to sort itself out,"

"You believe that Sirius really sold Lily and James to You-Know-Who?" McGonagall asked, "It sounds completely ludicrous. James and Sirius were like brothers,"

"I don't know," Remus said shortly, "I haven't talked to Sirius for a while, and I'd like to think that he didn't sell out to Voldemort, but Dumbledore is adamant that he was Lily and James' Secret Keeper. The only way Voldemort could have gotten to them is if he was able to break the Fidelius, and Sirius was the only one who could break it for him," he tried to smile but failed, "And now Lily and James are dead because of that, and Peter is...god knows where. It's truly a turn of events,"

"Remus," he turned to see Dumbledore and Hagrid in the doorway, "It's time to send Eira to her aunt and uncle. Hagrid will take her there," Remus nodded resigned to his fate, "It's not forever, you know? It's just goodbye for a little time," Remus handed over the small child, "I've written a letter to Petunia telling her what has happened, and that Eira is to be looked after,"

"You really think a letter is adequate enough to inform a woman that her sister is dead and her niece is to live with her?" Remus questioned but then waved a hand, "I'm sorry, Headmaster, forgive me. I don't mean to question what you believe,"

"That's quite all right, Remus, I would have liked to explain the situation in full to her, but there is so much to do and we still need to find Sirius, and find out what he has done," the old man patted the werewolf's shoulder sorrowfully, "Everything will be all right, Remus, eventually everything will be all right,"

And that was the last sight of Eira, Remus had in a long time. Taken by Hagrid to live with her aunt and Remus could only pray to God that she was going to be absolutely fine. He sighed as he looked out of the window of the Hospital Wing. The light was darkened, the blood red sky shining as the sun slowly went down, and Remus could make out the presence of tiny white snowflakes drifting through the air. He shook his head slightly walking out of the Hospital Wing. He had to find Sirius; he had to know what had happened.

* * *

November 5th 1981  
Hogwarts Castle

"You want to resign?"

"No," the other man responded bored, "I want to go on a temporary leave of absence. It's a completely different thing all together," Tom Riddle leaned forward, looking at the Headmaster, "I've been a professor at Hogwarts for a rather long time and think I need to take a few years off to do something other than teach small children. I would naturally return to Hogwarts, of course. I wouldn't be gone for many years after all. It would improve my teaching after all,"

"I understand," the Headmaster pondered deeply, "You would remain here up until I managed to secure your replacement?" the man nodded, "I can hardly protest that you haven't been up to standards, and you deserve time away from Hogwarts and teaching. You always seem to be working. My only concern is the war effort,"

"You know I'm not exactly involved with the fighting, Albus," the Slytherin waved an impatient hand, "I give advice when I'm asked but no further. I rather value my neck after all," Dumbledore nodded slowly, "What has you so concerned with the war effort that it involves me. You may send me any letters if it places you at ease,"

"I might just take up that offer," Dumbledore smiled at him, "What do you intend to do on your...sabbatical, if that is the right word,"

"Travel most likely," Riddle told him, "I think that I need to see the world a little more than I already have done. Perhaps do more research concerning my own personal interests," his lips twitched slightly, "You will be able to hold off the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters without me, I hope?"

"I think we can manage, Tom," a slight shadow passed over the Deputy Head's face at the older man's use of his name, "Well I definitely will find a replacement for your position, Tom, I know many wizards who will practically jump at the chance. I shouldn't think that it would be too difficult," Riddle smiled mechanically, "I will be sorry to lose you though. So many students say that you are one of their favourite professors, and you have worked here for a decent amount of time. There is nothing that I could possibly offer in order to tempt you?"

"Unfortunately not, Albus," Riddle answered, with a slight smile, "I think that both Hogwarts and I need this period to...delve in other pursuits. You will undoubtedly make Minerva the Deputy Headmaster while I am away," Dumbledore nodded slowly, "Very well then, merely tell me when you have found a suitable replacement, I don't want some idiot taking my place. It'll undermined my wonderful reputation,"

"Naturally I will find the best candidate available," Dumbledore assured him, "You merely worry about what you will do when you have all those spare hours. Leave the problem solving to me," Riddle inclined his head in thank although his eyes remained fixed on the Headmaster coldly.

"Don't worry yourself ever so much over the war, Albus," Riddle said carefully, "Do remember that your Order of the Phoenix is always there at hand, even considering the...recent traumas concerning its members,"

"I can only pray that this war will be over soon and society can return to the peaceful balance that it once was before all this bloodshed occurred," Riddle looked tempted to argue but then minutely shook his head, not bothering to speak what was on his mind, "Too much death has happened in the last year. The Bones, the McKinnons, the Potters, and all this trouble with Sirius Black,"

"He's definitely been sentenced to Azkaban then?" Riddle inquired, interestedly, "As far as I was aware, he is not going to have a trial. Surely the Wizengamot should question him, to find out his motives behind his apparent allegiance to the Dark Lord?"

"He's not talking," Dumbledore admitted, "Just long periods of silence which is punctuated with random bursts of laughter. I don't think that there is anything to be learned from him. We know all the facts when we're talking about what happened with Lily and James Potter. And there are about a dozen witnesses to his crimes concerning poor Peter Pettigrew. I think it will be a very long time before Sirius Black will be considered for a possible parole from Azkaban. And frankly, I hope that he never gets out,"

"Rather a violent sentiment from you, Albus," Riddle replied slowly, "I thought that you were of the opinion that no one deserved Azkaban for that amount of time. Men go mad in there after a few weeks, I'm told. Does anyone deserve to be sentenced to that crime?"

"Perhaps not, Tom," said Dumbledore, "And maybe I am being too harsh on him. I just remember James Potter telling me that he trusted Sirius Black with the lives of him and his family. I only wonder what he was thinking when he realised that his best friend had betrayed him to the enemy," the man seemed to have aged a hundred years, "The burden of time,"

"Well as far as I am aware, I had a head with only black hair before the war started," Riddle ran a hand through his hair, "And now it seems to gaining more and more silver every day. I will be glad to have time off to replenish my energy for teaching," they both stood up, "I bid you goodnight, and will see you for another day of teaching tomorrow," they both inclined their heads at each other, and Riddle turned to leave the room when he paused, looking at the object in the corner of the room.

"Is something the matter, Tom?" the Headmaster noted with concern at the younger man.

"That mirror," he said looking at it, thinking that it seemed to be a fragment of a memory that he couldn't quite remember, "I-I do not remember it being in your office before now," he silently berated himself for stuttering, but he turned to look at the Headmaster despite his words, "When did you procure it, I have to ask. It looks quite fascinating,"

"I found it," Dumbledore answered conversationally; "It's called the Mirror of Erised. I'd advise you not looking into it. Some people are said to go mad for what they see in it, and I'm almost positive that it holds some other magic that is hidden from sight. It's incredibly old," he looked at Riddle, "Are you sure you are all right, Tom?"

"What?" the Slytherin seemed uncharacteristically off guard, "Oh, yes, I'm quite all right," he attempted a smile but it appeared to fail, "Just extremely tired. I will see you in the morning," and he swiftly left the office, shutting the door with more force than was needed.

"He did seem rather out of sorts, did he not Fawkes?" Dumbledore asked the red and gold bird on his perch. The phoenix answered with a trill, "Yes, I thought so too. Maybe he does need to take leave from teaching for a long while. We wouldn't want him to crack with stress, now would we?"

* * *

December 22st 1981  
Surrey

Mr and Mrs Dursley of number four privet drive; were proud to say that, excluding the presence of their niece, they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

It was a pity, they thought, that the one thing that blighted their normalness came in the presence of a small girl that they were bound to take in. And it was a damn nuisance that Mrs Dursley's sister had to get blown up and the girl be landed with them. They had pretended for so long that Mrs Dursley didn't have a sister, had hardly ever exchanged corresponded with the Potters and now this had happened, and they had found out that they had to provide for another mouth.

It happened nearly a month ago. When Petunia Dursley had gone out in the morning of the second of November to collect the milk bottles, she had found a baby left on the doorstep with only a letter to explain the circumstances. The writing had neatly rounded up what should rightfully have been explained in person, but the Dursleys put it down to the nature of _that_ group. It basically said that Petunia's sister and husband had been killed by a dangerous man, and as Petunia was the last remaining relative of the Potters, their daughter: Eira Potter was to come and live with them.

Neither of the Dursleys were particularly pleased with that arrangement but unfortunately the sender of the letter had not left any way of contacting them, and so they were forced to take the small girl in. Thankfully, they both thought, she was a quiet child, and so they didn't have to suffer any loud crying in the middle of the night.

And so a month had passed and the whole Dursley family had settled into a routine that never really satisfied any of them. Dudley didn't like the presence of his cousin, Petunia didn't like having to look after her sister's child, and Vernon didn't like any of it to be frank.

It was getting up to Christmas now and at half eight, Vernon picked up his briefcase, pecked Petunia on the cheek, tried to kiss Dudley on the cheek but missed, and ignored the girl from where she sat on the sofa. He got into his car, and backed out of number four's drive. It was his last day before he went on holiday for the Christmas period, and he hoped that the deal he had concerning the large number of drills would go through successfully. Vernon Dursley worked as a director at Grunnings, which was a company that made drills, and he was very proud of his job.

When he reached the inner part of town, all thoughts were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the morning traffic, he couldn't help but notice that there was an unusual amount of oddly dressed people about. People in cloaks and long clothes that reached almost to the ground. Vernon Dursley disliked anyone that dressed funny. It was probably another one of the ridiculous crazes that people seemed to go through. But he frowned when he noticed the people were whispering excitedly to each other. A convention, he naturally though, a get together of people doing something different perhaps.

And with that, the trouble passed out of his mind for the rest of the traffic jam and for the morning the only things that crossed through his mind was drills, food and more drills. He shouted at a few people about drills, and phoned even more people about deals concerning drills. In truth the strange people in cloaks only entered his mind when he decided to go to the bakery for lunch.

They were still there when he crossed the road, and he was suddenly horribly reminded of Petunia's sister and husband. They had dressed weirdly on the few times that the two sisters had ever decided to meet each other, and he was sure that they couldn't be collecting for anything. All they seemed to be doing was talking to each other very excitedly. He could hear a few snippets of what they were saying, "The Longbottoms, that's right...well that's what I've heard,"

Thinking it was nothing but a bunch of mental cases, Vernon Dursley, clutching his bag full of pastries, carefully manoeuvred himself around the group and disappeared as fast as he could into his office. Munching on a large donut and alone, he thought carefully on what he had heard. Strange people in cloaks, people ridiculously happy. And then he thought on the letter that had been delivered along with Eira about the mad man who had murdered the Potters. Could this be related? He really didn't know.

Only when he left work at half five, that he was sure on his musings. As soon as he took one step out of the office block, he had stumbled into an extremely old man, who fell onto the pavement, "Sorry," he grunted, not bothering to help him up.

The old man stood up, and Vernon saw that he was one of the people in strange clothing, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice for You-Know-Who has fled mortally weakened, and his forces have finally been defeated! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating this happy, happy day!" he then hugged Vernon and walked smartly off.

Mr Dursley drove home as fast as he could, pulled into the drive and immediately told his wife all that he had heard. Her lips soured, they tried to avoid this topic as much as possible, "It's a pity that it's taken this long for those people to get rid of whoever it is," she said through pursed lips, "Then we wouldn't be left with..." they both looked at the girl who was sitting next to Dudley pushing a train to what her cousin was ordering her to, "Hopefully this means that they won't be walking up the garden path to talk to us,"

"You think that they won't come here?" Vernon Dursley asked.

"Of course not, they didn't bother coming here in person," Petunia Dursley walked back into kitchen, "We'll just have make sure that the girl doesn't do anything that is freakish," she sniffed as she pulled out the loin of pork in the oven, "Everything will work out to our advantage then,"

Vernon Dursley nodded, it was better this way after all. The Potters didn't need to be mentioned in this house, and the events of today could be easily forgotten. He watched the girl carefully, he didn't have to like her being here, but he supposed he could put up with her presence in the house. She had been quiet so far.

* * *

**So another chapter, another part done. Like I said, 1991 definitely going to be next chapter, so await it next time.**

**Have a good day**


	4. Chapter 4: Snakes in Glass Houses

**Didn't think I would finish this Chapter tonight, because I was looking after a neighbour's child for them. Luckily the child was incredibly sweet and went to bed nice and early so I was able to finish it off, and look over it as well.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

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_Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen  
_**_Willa Sibert Cather_**

June 23rd 1991  
Privet Drive

"Up! Get up!"

She blinked tiredly at the sound of the nasal voice that blasted in her ears. Eira Potter sat up and looked around, her mind still drifting in the land of snow and ice. A peaceful dream, she recollected, cold certainly, but peaceful. And now that peace had been shattered by the voice that belonged to Aunt Petunia. Just another thing that her aunt's voice was able to penetrate.

"Are you listening to me in there?" Her Aunt demanded on the other side of the door, "Get up, girl! It's Dudley's birthday today and I will not have it ruined because you are late getting dressed and downstairs. So get up, get dressed, and get to the breakfast as soon as possible, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Eira replied, already pulling on a pair of jeans. Dudley's birthday, of course, how in the world could she have possibly forgotten? Her cousin had been boasting of it loudly for the last month, already saying that he was going to get various presents from various people. She blamed her temporary forgetfulness on the dream that she had left behind. Already it was slipping away from her, the details blurring in a messy entanglement of white and red.

She blew a spider off her glasses. While she found them unnerving, she could tolerate them so long as they didn't bother her. Her cupboard tended to attract them, so she thought that it was better to put up with them than complain to her aunt and risk getting a lecture about how glad she should be that they were willing to house her and feed her, rather than putting her into an orphanage, which had been recommended, apparently, by a number of their friends.

Privately, Eira thought that an orphanage would have been a lot better than staying with the Dursleys, it would pleased them as they didn't have to look after her anymore and it would please her because it would get her out and away from people who made her sleep in a cupboard. But she didn't ever mention because that would have earned her a slap instead of the lecture and frankly there was no way in Hel that was going to happen.

She slipped open the latch of the door to her cupboard, and walked into the kitchen. Bacon was already sizzling in the pan, the fat spitting in glutinous gobs, and Eira couldn't help by feel a little sickened by the sight of it. She was in no way a vegetarian, but the reality in front of her would make the most hard-core of carnivores renounce meat forever. How anyone could eat something that was swimming in that much fat was truly beyond her.

Unfortunately the evidence was evident when one saw her uncle and her cousin. Both corpulently fat, Eira was genuinely astonished that neither of them had undergone a serious heart attack. Just being that rotund was an incredible feat in itself. And then on the other hand there was Aunt Petunia who looked so brittle that even with the slightest poke she would shatter into a million pieces. It was amazing that the bony woman could spot fingerprints on a dish that Eira had just cleaned, but not noticed that her son and husband were the combined weight of several baby elephants. Blind denial perhaps, but Aunt Petunia just could not see it. Ludicrously amazing was something to be seriously considered.

"I don't want a single piece of this burnt, do you hear?" Eira pulled back from her thoughts to look at her Aunt, "The bacon, were you not listening to me again?"

"No, Aunt Petunia," Eira answered neutrally, walking over to the pan and taking the tongs, and beginning to turn over the many strips that were lying there. "I can do it," her aunt nodded sharply, cracking multiple eggs into another pan. Eira mentally gagged. Did there really need to be that much food? There were only four of them, but the amount of food that she was cooking seemed to be more likely for at least ten.

She silently turned the bacon over, her mind drifting back to the now befuddled dream. There had been a mirror, she thought, and a man. But she could not make out the man's face and she wasn't too sure on the mirror either. She decided to let it be, there was no use trying to make out a dream that could be a hundred different things. She blinked back to reality and started to pile the bacon onto a large plate. She looked swiftly behind her, noting the large pile of presents that were piled beside the table and spilling over the armchair. It looked like Dudley had gotten the second television that he wanted...and the computer...and that racing bike.

It was a complete mystery to Eira why Dudley wanted a racing bike for his birthday because as everyone apart from Aunt Petunia could clearly see, Dudley was so overweight that he resembled a flesh coloured beach ball. And he hated exercise with a passion. She shook her head, going back to the bacon. He probably wanted it for the sake of having it. It was doubtful that it would ever be used. Dudley only liked one type of exercise and that was trying to catch her, and even then he couldn't really catch her. Eira didn't exactly look it but she was rather fast.

Eira was rather small for her age, maybe due to sleeping in a cupboard, and that made it easier to avoid any of Dudley's friends that tried to catch her when they decided that she'd be their next target. Being rather skinny as well also helped her to be faster than them so she was at a slight advantage to any that wished to catch her. Other than that, there wasn't anything else that served to help her.

What summed Eira Potter up was that her hair was ridiculously curly, her eyes were an odd shade of green, she was short for her age, and that she was ridiculously pale for someone who spent a lot of time outside the house in the garden. No matter how much time she spent under the sun, she never seemed to turn any shade darker. She privately found that it was very annoying for it made her look like a ghost.

When asked about it Aunt Petunia only said that her Mum was very pale as a child so it was probably to do with that. Then she had said not to ask questions and finish drying the plates. The first rule of 4 Privet Drive was don't ask questions, about everything and anything. Their theory was, Eira thought, was that if she didn't ask questions then she wouldn't get dangerous idea. And to get dangerous ideas was a very bad thing- according to the Dursleys. Eira wasn't exactly sure what kind of dangerous thoughts she would begin to have, or get, but she wasn't going to willingly suggest anything to her aunt or uncle, just in case it was deemed to be a 'dangerous idea'.

Eira's parents died in a car crash, according to the Dursleys. Her father had been drunk and driven into a tree at a fast speed and killed them both instantly. She had been there as well, but had been strapped in whereas both her mother and father hadn't been wearing seat belts. Truth be told, Eira couldn't remember anything to do with her parents. Well she had only just been one year old when it had happened; she wasn't likely to remember anything specific. Just a green light and even that might have just been her imagination dreaming up a scenario.

Firmly breaking away from thoughts and distractions, she brought the plate over to the table and Uncle Vernon looked up from his newspaper, "Have you combed your hair this morning?" He asked gruffly, which would have seemed an odd question if he didn't ask it every day at the breakfast table.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," she answered, sitting on the other side of the table, opposite Dudley, "Happy Birthday," she told her cousin who ignored her as he stood, counting his presents. Clearly it was taking a long time, not from the amount of presents that Dudley had received but rather that she wasn't completely sure that Dudley could count to any number higher than ten. It was a complete mystery that he hadn't been diagnosed with a learning difficulty of some sort.

"There are thirty six presents," Dudley said finally, and then turned to his father with a glare, "Last year I had thirty eight presents!" Actually, last year Dudley had received thirty five presents but it seemed to Eira that there no matter what number Dudley had made up in his head, he was wanting to get more either way.

"There's a present from Aunt Marge on the other side of the Sofa, Diddy," Aunt Petunia told him, sniffing out the threat of a temper tantrum from her son and trying to swiftly divert it. Dudley, unsurprisingly when it came to presents, wasn't fazed by her attempts to placate him, and his face grew dark with what promised to be an almighty storm, "But," Eira's aunt continued, "We will buy you two mo presents at the zoo when we get there, anything you want, which means you'll get more presents than last year.

"So I'll have..." Dudley frowned with concentration, which really ended up with him looking even more stupid than he originally was, "Thirty...thirty..." Eira pressed her fingertips to her eyes in the attempt to stop herself from visibly showing the distaste for the pure idiocy of her cousin. She in that he couldn't be that unintelligent, because he used them quite frequently when it came to bossing around his gang at school.

"Thirty nine, sweetheart," Aunt Petunia sat down on the other side of the table, "There isn't that better, more presents for your birthday," she eyed the table and sipped her coffee, with an air of affected superiority, "Better hurry up, Dudley, we don't want to be late for your special little trip,"

The whole family started eating when the phone suddenly rang, "That will be Mrs Figg phoning to see when the girl can come around this morning," Aunt Petunia said, standing up, "Although I did remind her of the time just yesterday afternoon," and she went off to pick up the phone.

"You will behave yourself for Mrs Figg, girl," Uncle Vernon said in a growl towards her, and Eira nodded, "No funny stuff, no trouble. Nothing. And I will be asking Mrs Figg how you have behaved when we get back from Dudley's trio to the zoo, so don't think you'll get away with anything while you are there either,"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," she said quietly. It really wasn't her fault that she sometimes got into trouble, honestly. There had been weird incidences that she had been involved in but other than that most of the trouble that she had gotten herself into was because Dudley blamed everything on her. And somehow the teachers always seemed to believe him. Eira didn't know why exactly the teachers sided with the Dursleys on everything even with evidence against him. Maybe the world was stupider that she thought was possible. But nobody believed Eira Potter.

She looked towards her Aunt and saw Petunia put down the phone with a grimace, "It's bad news, Vernon," she told her uncle, and Eira stopped, fork midway to her mouth, "Mrs Figg can't take her today," she threw a nod in Eira's direction. They did this a lot, talked about her while she was in the room, "She's broken her leg tripping over one of those damn cats of hers. Says that she can't possible have the girl over for the whole day. It would be too much hassle and the doctors said that she ought to be resting,"

Eira felt slightly bad for feeling so relieved. Every year for Dudley's birthday she would be packed off to Mrs Figg's house where she would be desperately bored, looking at the various cats she owned and looking at pictures of the cats that she used to own. Now that Mrs Figg had broken her leg, maybe she would actually enjoy the day. Maybe they would leave her in the house. She would be able to go on Dudley's new computer before her cousin had even tried it. But the day actually would be fun.

"We could see whether Marge is available to watch her," Uncle Vernon said to Petunia, "Make sure that she wouldn't get into any ridiculous nonsense or trouble that she might cause," Eira silently crossed her fingers under the table. There was no way in Hel she was going to go to Aunt Marge's house willingly. She would rather be locked in her cupboard for a whole day. Theirs wasn't the best of relationships.

"Don't be ridiculous, Vernon, your sister hates the girl," Petunia Snapped and her Uncle opened his mouth to suggest another point, "And don't think that any of my friends will be willing to have her dumped on them at this short notice. They all know how difficult the girl is and wouldn't want her in their houses anyway,"

"Maybe I could stay here," Eira suggested, "I wouldn't make much fuss,"

"And come home to find that you've blown up half the neighbourhood?" Petunia demanded and Eira rolled her eyes, "Don't look at me that way, girl," she warned, but Eira wasn't listening. How exactly could she blow up half the neighbourhood, she didn't know. Did the Dursleys keep dynamite under the floorboards, because she couldn't see any other way of doing it, "We could take her to the zoo and then leave her in the car, Vernon," Petunia proposed.

"The car's brand new. I am not having her sit in it all day," Uncle Vernon replied gruffly. She really wasn't surprised to find that the Dursleys placed the well being of their car over her, "I suppose we are just going to have to take her with us to the zoo and let her walk around with us,"

Dudley started crying immediately.

It wasn't proper crying, Eira didn't think that Dudley had ever cried for the pure and simple reason because he was sad. The only tears that he knew were the ones that ,want he could get something out of it, "She can't come!" he bawled loudly, "She's not allowed to come. I don't want her there; she'll spoil everything for me!" Aunt Petunia tried to calm him down but he just cried louder.

"There, there, Diddy, Mummy won't let her spoil your very special day," She told him, "We'll make sure that she doesn't make you upset," The door suddenly rang and immediately Dudley stopped crying, he wouldn't be seen crying in front of all his friend, it would completely ruin any type of reputation that he held. "That will be Piers and his mum," Aunt Petunia said in a panic, rushing for the door, "They're here half an hour early," she looked over to Eira, "Tidy up all the plates, girl, it's a complete mess in here,"

Eira sighed as she began collecting the plates, and deposited them into the soapy water at the sink, Just as Piers Polkiss walked through the door. He was a thin, weedy looking boy, who looked a little like a rat only less hairy. For such a weedy looking boy, it was quite a surprise to know that he was quite strong. He often held Dudley's victim's arms behind them as her cousin beat them up. So naturally he was one of Dudley's closest friends.

Half an hour later, they were all ready to go to the zoo and just as Eira was pulling on her coat, Uncle Vernon had taken her aside, "If anything happen today," he warned her, "If anything at all happens at all on Dudley's special day, then you won't be out of your cupboard for a whole month. Do you understand me, girl? Nothing unnatural, nothing odd, and nothing

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Eira replied coldly, "I won't do anything," Uncle Vernon just looked at her suspiciously as if he was trying to detect a dangerous thought in her head. Giving up, he lumbered over to the car and got in. Eira wasn't lying when she said that she wasn't going to try to do anything odd. But there had been incidences surrounding her that were weird and unexplainable, and Eira had always been close when it had happened.

For instance, one time Aunt Petunia had forcibly tried to yank a hairbrush through her hair; all of the individual bristles had suddenly all fallen off. When Aunt Petunia went to find another hairbrush, her aunt had found that every single hairbrush had all its bristles removed. Eira had gotten into terrible trouble for that and she had been in her cupboard for a week, but Aunt Petunia had never tried to brush her hair again.

Another time has been in the middle of winter and there had been a clear six inches of snow and ice on the ground. Dudley had floundered in the snow, but somehow Eira had been able to walk on the top of it without sinking and getting covered in ice. In fact that whole day she had stayed completely dry even when Dudley and his friends thought it would be a very good idea to use her as target practice and pelt her with snowballs. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hadn't punished her for that, probably thinking that her keeping completely dry was preferably to dealing with even more sodden clothing that Dudley had brought home.

However, she had gotten into serious trouble when she had been running away from Dudley and a bunch of his friends down a small alley. They had been gaining on her and she prayed for something that would stop them from catching her. She had just run out of the alley perfectly fine, when Dudley and his gang suddenly slipped over and fallen into each other. The end result had been two broken arms, several nasty bruises and Dudley had broken his leg. When the alley had been inspected for what had caused them to fall over, it was found that there had been an inch of thick ice, despite it being the middle of the summer holidays. The Dursleys had been furious with Eira and she hadn't been allowed out of the house for the entire period of the holidays, and made to do all the chores that the Dursleys had set her.

But today...today she wasn't going to cause any trouble. None whatsoever. She was going to keep out of the Dursleys way as much as possible, and stick to looking around the zoo. And not providing a single excuse to allow them to shove her back in the cupboard as soon as they managed to get home. This was a promise that she intended to keep to herself. No dangerous thoughts, no mysterious things happening, and no questions to be asked.

That resolve was instantly put to the test as she was forced to sit next to Dudley and Piers who decided that it would be fun to poke her as hard as they could. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't see this however. They were busy talking about how the car in front had all its mirrors in the wrong places, and that they wouldn't be surprised if they ended up in a crash, "Probably one of those young people," Uncle Vernon sniffed, "Thinking that they know the rules of the road. I mean look at that rear mirror, it's clearly unable to see most of the road,"

"I had a dream about a mirror," Eira said, getting poked by Dudley, "It showed you anything you wanted, like it was magic,"

Uncle Vernon nearly crashed the car into the one in front, "There's no such thing as magic mirrors!" he shouted loudly, drawing attention from the cars around them. Dudley and Piers laughed at that, and Aunt Petunia looked disparagingly at her niece.

Eira could have kicked herself for that comment. That statement was close to a dangerous comment. The one thing the Dursleys hated beyond questions was any idea of imagination "I know there isn't," she said quickly, in-between pokes from Piers and Dudley, "I was just saying that I had a dream about a magic mirror, I didn't actually see it in real life," and she kept quiet for the rest of the journey.

The zoo was brilliant. Eira had never been to the zoo before. The Dursleys had never signed any slips saying that she could go with the school, and they would leave her with Mrs Figg if they were taking Dudley anywhere. So today was the very first day she was able to properly see everything. She saw animals that she had only ever seen in picture books. She thought that the gorilla looked like Dudley, especially when it scratched its head. Her favourite animals however were the penguins in the ice enclosure, where the small group got to see the animals being fed. The small little animals were so amazing in the water, that it was odd that they weren't as good on the ice.

She mainly hung back behind the group during the day, eating the lemon ice lolly that they had gotten from a van. The day wasn't bad, she thought, when she would have usually been stuck in Mrs Figg's house, looking at the various cats that she currently had. Instead she was at the zoo, looking at interesting animals, the sun was shining and she was eating an ice cream. She could hardly believe her luck.

And that really ought to have warned her of what was to come later in the day.

After lunch the whole group decided to go into the reptile house. It was dark and various lizards and snakes resided behind walls of glass in different habitats. Dudley and Piers immediately headed over to the largest snake that they could find, ignored the sign next to it and rapped on the glass, "Dad!" Dudley turned to his Father, "Make it move!"

The snake was a lovely mottled green with flecks of yellow shot through it. It was big enough to crush a car, and easily a person. However it was now snoozing very comfortably on a rock in the enclosure, previously undisturbed by any other humans, "Move!" Uncle Vernon rapped on the glass as well, ignoring the looks that he got from the other visitors. The snake refused to move, "Come along, Dudley, this one doesn't want to do anything,"

They moved off and Eira approached the glass. Almost immediately the snake opened its eyes, watching the smaller girl. Probably seeing that she was a more sizeable meal than Dudley and Uncle Vernon, she thought, eyeing its mouth with some awkwardness. She could probably get swallowed whole by that snake. It was extraordinarily large for a snake.

Eira looked at the sign next to it. Boa Constrictor from Brazil bred in captivity. She looked back and saw the snake raising its head up at her, "Right," she looked around, there wasn't anyone next to her, the snake was staring directly at her, "Creepy snake," it slithered closer to the glass, its head swaying slightly as it raised itself to eye level, "Mind looking away from me?" the snake didn't move. She stepped to the left, the snake's head moved. She stepped right, it followed, "What is so interesting?"

"DUDLEY, MR DURSLEY, LOOK WHAT THIS SNAKE IS DOING!" Piers shouted from across the room. Dudley waddled as fast as he could and pushed Eira over onto the floor. She looked up, glaring at her cousin, as he plastered his face onto the glass, staring at the snake.

The next thing that happened was so bizarre that it technically shouldn't have been possible. The glass suddenly frosted over, a network of tiny ice crystals forming on the cool glass. There was a sudden creaking of glass before it suddenly exploded into tiny pieces, showering over Eira, Dudley and Piers. A loud piercing scream came from Dudley immediately afterwards as the snake unwound itself and slithered from its cage.

Eira held herself still as the snake slid onto the ground hissing violently at Dudley and Piers as it moved passed them. It blinked at her, hissing at her before sliding towards the entrance of the reptile house, accompanied by the many screams of the public. She stood up quickly, brushing off the bits of frozen glass, wincing in pain when she realised that it had cut her skin. Dudley and Piers were still screaming.

After a long argument that Uncle Vernon had with the reptile man about who was responsible for the glass and whether they were eligible for compensation, they all set off home. Dudley and Piers had already concocted stories of what had happened, which apparently involved Dudley getting almost crushed and Piers' arm nearly bitten off.

Eira thought that keeping quiet was the best thing to do. And it almost worked up until Piers piped up when they were pulling into the driveway of Privet Drive when Piers suddenly said, "You were over by the snake weren't you, Eira, you were staring at it," From one look at Uncle Vernon's red face, Eira knew that what was waiting for her inside the house wasn't going to be particularly pleasant.

When they got inside the house, Uncle Vernon only said, "Glass...cupboard...now...no meals," before falling into his armchair. Eira knew better than to argue and went directly to her cupboard. She sat in the darkness hearing the Dursleys move around the house.

She looked at the figurine of Alice in Wonderland sitting on the small shelf, from a set of chess pieces that Dudley had once had. She picked it up, "How did the glass break, Alice?" she whispered to it, "One second the glass was perfectly fine and the next it had frosted over," she lay down on the camp bed, "What has the Dursleys so scared?" of course the figure didn't answer back, it was made of wood, but it made her feel slightly better.

Eira Potter was truly alone in this world. Her parents were dead, and her closest relatives clearly didn't care about her. No one at school was friends with the weird girl who was Dudley Dursley's cousin and she wasn't even sure that she wanted them as friends in the first place. The only thing that concerned her at this precise moment was when the Dursleys would go to sleep so she could slip out of her cupboard and find something to ear.

* * *

31st of July 1991  
4 Privet Drive

The broken glass incident earned Eira her longest spell in her cupboard. It lasted so long that by the time she was allowed out of the cupboard, the school holidays had already begun. The Dursleys had told the school that Eira had come down with the measles to ward off any unwanted questions. In that period of time, Dudley had broken his computer, broken his television, and broken Mrs Figg's leg again by knocking her over on his racing bike.

She was glad that school was over, but the freedom that the summer gave, it also meant that Dudley and his gang of friends were round Privet Drive every day. They were also all completely fine with chasing Eira through the streets, so she often made a point of getting out of the house as early as was possible and wandering around the place. The most frequent thought she lingered on was what would happen at the end of the holidays, when Dudley and her were heading to Secondary Schools.

Dudley, like Uncle Vernon before him, was going to a private school called Smeltings. The uniform for the school was horrendous. It consisted of maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and straw hats. Dudley had proudly showed it off after he had bought it from the shop in London. Aunt Petunia thought that Dudley looked like an angel. Uncle Vernon called it the proudest moment of his life. Eira didn't say anything about Dudley's appearance. She was too busy trying to control her laughter. Another part of the uniform was a long stick that was meant to be for hitting each other when the teacher's weren't looking. Apparently it was meant to be good for later life.

Eira wasn't going to Smeltings, mainly because it was an all-boys school. She was going to Stonewall High, which was a local school. The uniform for that was plain grey, and Aunt Petunia had dyed pieces of her old clothing grey instead of buying the actual uniform. Eira wasn't too sure that she was going to be happy wearing it, but there wasn't a whole lot of use complaining. She didn't want to be shut in the cupboard again.

And so the summer wore on, and the school year gradually got closer, and suddenly it was Eira's birthday. Her birthday was often in marked contrast to Dudley's one. It was always treated as a normal day in Privet Drive, with the Dursleys not going to any trouble to celebrate it. Eira didn't mind so much, mainly because she would be suspicious of their sudden turnaround, but also because she couldn't think of anyone worse to celebrate her birthday.

On this birthday, however, she was surprised to find that it was thoroughly enjoyable.

It hadn't started out as a good birthday however. Eira had been woken up by Aunt Petunia as usual, demanding her help with the breakfast. Just a typical day in Privet Drive, never mind that she had just turned eleven.

They had finished breakfast when there was a loud knock on the door, and without looking up from his newspaper, Uncle Vernon said: "Get the door, Eira," Eira sighed, placing down her piece of toast almost resigned to it being eaten by the time she got back, "And tell whoever it is, if they're selling, we are not buying," Eira nodded, slipping off her seat and walking towards the front door, avoiding a swipe from Dudley's Smeltings stick. What a lousy birthday, no cards, no presents, well she hadn't expected anything like that, but usually there was a slight acknowledgement about it. The Dursleys were probably still mad about the zoo incident.

She opened the door, looking at the visitor. It wasn't exactly who she expected, she had expected maybe the postman or perhaps even the milkman. What she got was something completely different. He was tall, she supposed, although compared to her, everyone was considered tall. He was wearing a funny cloak and almost immediately she thought he was someone from a charity. He was rather old as well, silver streaked his hair and the glasses that he wore served to make him look rather studious. It was odd, but although she was sure that she had never met this man before in her life, there was a sense of familiarity about him.

She suddenly realised that she had been staring at him for nearly a whole minute without saying anything, "Sorry," she apologised, "I didn't mean to stare," he didn't even blink at her statement, "If you're a salesman then my uncle told me to tell you that we aren't buying anything from you. And if you're from a charity then it's even more unlike that he would want you to be on his front door either. Sorry,"

"I'm not a salesman," the man answered her, "Are you Eira Potter?"

* * *

**Told you 1991 was in this chapter. I've made the getting of the Hogwarts letters a lot shorter, because I think that a teacher would have gone to the Dursleys just like they would have for a Muggleborn child. And it helps with the storyline, I suppose. Also, Eira can't speak Parseltongue, the snake was being weird for a reason that will be explained in the future. So don't get the wrong idea with that.**

**Till Next Time**


	5. Chapter 5: Truth Will Out

**A-Levels over and done with, so that gives me the whole summer to just catch up on all my writings. So apologies about the delay on that.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

* * *

_Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours,"  
__**Robert Byrne**_

31st July 1991  
4th Privet Drive

Well, she hadn't exactly been expecting that particular question.

She blinked in surprise at the man, and was immediately guarded. Nobody knew her name, other than the Dursleys and the children in her class at school. She was sure that she hadn't met him, and she hadn't told him who she was either, "How do you my name?" She asked him, cautiously, remembering the basic instructions that had probably been drilled into every child. Under no account, go with a stranger, "I don't know you," she frowned, looking at his clothing, "I don't even know what you are wearing,"

"I'm a professor," he told her shortly, and she blinked in surprised. He didn't look like a professor, "Generally it is considered basic politeness that when someone knocks on the door, they are invited in," she met his gaze squarely, not feeling afraid of making him wait on the doorstep, "Or does that not apply here?"

His mocking tone made her straighten up, "It would be considered politeness, sir," she told him, thinking over her questions, "If the person at the door was a friend or at least someone that they knew. I don't know you, and I don't know what you want," she bit her lower lip, thinking over the short conversation, "What do you want?"

"Hurry up girl!" Eira heard her uncle call from the other room, and winced slightly. Uncle Vernon detested anything that was remotely different from his perfectly normal life, "What could possibly be taking so long? Shut the damn door in their face if they're a salesman and stop letting in a draft. It's getting chilly!" Eira opened her mouth to reply but was stopped with the appearance of her Uncle in the hall. His temper must have already been on the edge. However it appears that every word that he was going to say refused to come out of his mouth when he saw the visitor, apart from, "Eeee!"

"You must be Mr Vernon Dursley," the man said, looking up and down the length and breadth of her uncle with the expression of utter distaste on his face, "Absolute...pleasure to meet you," he stepped in the door, "Let us assume that you have so kindly invited me inside, instead of leaving me outside on your doorstep," he walked in the house and surprisingly managed to get around Uncle Vernon who was turning the colour of strawberry jam.

Eira shut the door quickly, following after the man who had swept into the living room and was surveying it with the same distaste as he had her uncle, "What are you doing here?" she looked over at Aunt Petunia who appeared to be trying to hide Dudley behind her. It hadn't worked. Her Aunt continued to address the strange man, "What are you doing in my house?"

The man smiled tightly, "From your questions, Mrs Dursley, it is apparent that you know exactly why I am here today, and also the reason that I am invited to your...house today," he answered her, "However from the questions that your niece asked at the front door, it appears that she has no idea why I am here," he raised an eyebrow, "I also suppose that I will be offered something to drink. I've travelled a very long way in a very short amount of time. I would appreciate it,"

Aunt Petunia looked at Eira, jerking her head towards the kitchen, "Tea?" Eira asked him and he nodded slowly still keeping a still gaze on her Aunt and cousin. Her aunt seemed too petrified to move and Dudley also seemed to have enough sense to stay behind her. What was her aunt so afraid of?

Eira walked into the kitchen, pulling the short step ladder towards her so that she could reach the cups and saucers. Aunt Petunia had this apparent horror of drinking out of mugs so she only had the ridiculously fragile china cups and saucers in the cupboard. She only hoped that she wouldn't break anything. She quickly boiled the kettle, found the tea bags and stirred it all together, throwing out the bags when it was finished. She didn't know whether the man liked milk or sugar, but from what she had seen of him so far, he didn't seem like someone who drank tea with milk or sugar.

When she went back into the living room, she was met with stony silence from all the occupants. Uncle Vernon seemed to have overcome his shock as he was standing with Aunt Petunia and Dudley as far away from the man as it was possible. Eira couldn't help but smile slightly; they were acting like the man had some extremely contagious disease. Come to think of it, she couldn't help but think that they had the same expression on their faces when she had asked a question. Either way, it wasn't as apparent as it was now.

She handed him the cup of tea, "I didn't know whether you liked sugar or milk," she told him before going to sit on an armchair. He merely nodded, taking the tea and drinking it slowly, "I'm sorry," she started, "But you never said who you were or why you knew my name,"

He sighed, placing the cup on a small table, "My name is Professor Riddle, Deputy Head of Hogwarts School," he answered her, "At least that is all you need to know about me for the time being," he studied her with cold dark eyes, "And I know your name because it was down on my list of things to do today,"

"Why would Hogwarts School send a teacher here?" she asked, still confused about how he knew who she was, even if her name was on a list somehow. And the name Hogwarts really meant absolutely nothing to her, "I'm not going to a school called Hogwarts in September. I'm apparently going to Stonewall High which is in Surrey. I haven't heard of Hogwarts before,"

"From what I know about your relatives, I don't doubt that. You appear to have absolutely no knowledge of our world," he replied calmly, "We did wonder why you weren't receiving your letters or at least replying to them. After seeing your...guardians I can see why exactly that was,"

Eira turned to look at Uncle Vernon, "I've been receiving letters!" she demanded of them, "You never said anything about letters to me," Uncle Vernon drew himself up, his face still a bright red colour, "Any letters addressed to me are my property. You can't just be opening my letters!"

"We didn't open them," Uncle Vernon snapped, "We burnt them," Eira opened her mouth to reply, but he spoke before she could utter a word, the red face slowly turning to a puce colour, "And you, sir, stop right there! I forbid you to tell the girl anything!"

Professor Riddle merely chuckled slightly, "And I suppose that you are just going to stop me, Mr Dursley," he inquired, still using a very calm voice, "Stop me from telling your niece about the Wizarding world, because clearly she knows absolutely nothing about everything. You're going to stop me, when you know exactly what I am and exactly what I can do," Uncle Vernon pulled up short at that apparent threat. Clearly he did know that he couldn't stop him.

"What world?" Eira asked immediately, before thinking over what he just said, feeling a prickle of indignation, "And I do know some things, like Mathematics and English. So I do know more than nothing,"

"Mathematics and English?" Professor Riddle asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement, "Indeed," he picked up the tea again, drinking some before saying, "Miss Potter, what exactly do you know about the world of magic, witches, and wizards?" she couldn't help but allow her mouth to fall open in surprise, "Clearly," he pulled an envelope from seemingly nothing and handed it over, "As your relatives have clearly not kept any of the previous ones.

Eira didn't open it, "Magic isn't real, sir," she told him, "Believe me, I've been told that about a million times. There isn't any such thing as magic," she looked at the Dursleys, who was still on the opposite side of the room, "They've told me that enough times that it isn't real,"

"Is that so?" Professor Riddle looked a little annoyed, "Just read the letter and then tell me that magic isn't real, Miss Potter,"

She turned back to the letter, noting the address of the front, and the brilliantly coloured coat of arms on the back. She opened the thick white envelope, and sliding out two sheets of the same type of paper. She opened them up carefully, and proceeded to read the information that had been penned on there.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore.  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1__st__ of September. We await your owl by no later than the 31__st__ of July._

_Minerva McGonagall  
Professor of Transfiguration_

Eira looked up at the Professor who was watching her over the cup of tea, before studying the letter again. It didn't exactly seem to be a joke of any sort. And the Dursleys seemed to be still terrified of the man. But there was something that was pressing on her mind, "What does it mean exactly when it says that they are awaiting my owl?" she asked the Professor.

"We use owls instead of the postal system to deliver our letters," he answered her, finally finishing the tea, "Faster and more efficient by half. The school is aware that I am here so they know that you have received the letter," she nodded dazed slightly, reading the letter a third time, "I find it unbelievable that you don't have any other questions," he looked at a watch, "We better be heading off,"

"She's not going," Uncle Vernon announced, and both the Professor and Eira turned to look at him, "We swore when took you in that we would put a stop to all that nonsense," he pulled himself up to his not so impressive height, "We swore that we'd stamp it out of her," Eira couldn't help but take an involuntary step back at that. She didn't like the sound of that, "Witch indeed. She's not going to that school, and that's the end of it,"

But Eira didn't hear the end of what her uncle said, "You knew?" she said, forcing herself to keep calm, "You knew that I'm a-a witch? And you never said!"

"Knew!" she looked at her aunt, "_Knew?" _she spat the words at her viciously, "Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that- that school- and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats, I was the only one to see her for what she was- a freak!" Eira didn't say anything, just taking all of her words in, "But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this, and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family," she looked like she had wanted to say this for a long time, "Then she met that Potter at school and they left, and got married, and had you. Of course I knew you would be just the same, just as strange, just as _abnormal_, and then, just as you please, she went and got herself blown up, and we got landed with you,"

That was it. Eira had endured enough from them today and this really took lying to a new level. And brought the Dursley's to an all-time low in her book, "Blown up?" she said, stepping forward, "Blown up! You said that my parents had died in a car crash! You never said that they were blown up!"

"As much as this is fascinating, we are on a time schedule," the Professor interrupted, and everyone looked towards him, "As much as I find your family problems ever so interesting, I don't have the time and patience to argue with you all day. Your niece will be coming with me, whether you like it or not," he surveyed Aunt Petunia, "I found your sister incredibly talented as a student, but I suppose your resentment of her being able to perform magic overrides that," Eira saw her Aunt flush a colour highly reminiscent of Uncle Vernon, a rather blotchy red. The Professor looked at her, "Your parents were killed in the recent war that happened in the Wizarding War, leaving you with your mother's Muggle relatives,"

"Muggle?" Eira asked frowning at him.

"It's what we call non-magical people," he explained patiently, "You seem to have been placed with the worst type of them as well. You do have my condolences," Eira couldn't muster a smile at this even though she found it somewhat amusing. She had been lied to, been made aware of a completely different world, and found out why exactly the Dursleys hated her so much. It was a little too much for one day. She needed to go and think on all of this in her cupboard, but she doubted that she would get the time.

"Now, you listen here, girl," Uncle Vernon appeared to have his courage back with the rant that his wife had just unleashed, "I accept that there's something strange about you, probably nothing that a good beating wouldn't have cured," now the step back that she took wasn't involuntarily this time. She wasn't going to let Uncle Vernon anywhere near her if he was going to hit her. They had never crossed that line unless it was something serious, "And about your parents, they were weirdoes, no denying it and the world's better off without them in my opinion,"

"Then it's a very good thing that I don't care for your opinion," she mustered up the courage to tell him, "I don't care if you think my parents are better off dead. They were my parents, and I care that they're dead. I'm glad they weren't like you. I wish you had put me in the orphanage like you've always threatened," she walked from the room, opening the door of her cupboard and pulling out her shoes from under the bed, pulling them on, and grabbing her small bag. She went back into the living room, "I'm ready to go when you are, Professor,"

"She's not going!" Uncle Vernon hissed at the teacher, "She's going to Stonewall High, and she'll be grateful for it. I've seen those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish, spell books, wands, and cauldrons. I am not going to pay for rubbish. She's not going!"

Eira finally lose her temper, "It's not your choice!" she snapped at him, "It's mine, and you're not going to decide it for me. If it gets me out of this house then I'm going, and you can go to Hell trying to stop me. You're not stopping me," and with that she turned and walked out of the house, waiting for the professor.

He soon joined her, "Very interesting family you have there," she folded her arms at his words, not wishing to get into conversation with him about it, "Very interesting," he looked down at her; "Don't you have a coat to wear?"

"I don't own a coat," she said stiffly, not liking to draw attention to the fact that she had less than adequate clothing, "But it's warm so I don't think I'll need one anyway," he nodded slowly, and she looked at his strange clothing, "You don't have a coat, sir. Won't you be cold?"

"In the Wizarding World, it's more common to wear a cloak," he took out what looked like a wand, waving it sharply. His clothes immediately rippled and changed to look like normal everyday clothing. Eira stared at what he just did, "I would have just attracted unwanted attention," he set off up the road, and she followed him quickly, "Hurry up," he told her as they crossed the road, and headed into the train station, "We don't have all day to go shopping," she walked quicker to catch up with him. He looked down at her, "I'm surprised that you don't have any questions. Surely you must have at least a hundred to ask. You have just been placed in an entirely new world which is able to do magic, and yet you have no questions,"

"When you say shopping," Eira asked, as they got onto the train, "How exactly am I meant to pay for any of it? You heard Uncle Vernon; the Dursleys aren't going to pay for anything,"

"Your father was quite wealthy, I believe, so when they died they left the remaining money to you. As I am told, it is adequate enough for you to pay for your school expenses. I have been given the key to your vault," Eira couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Dursleys wouldn't have known that there was any money left to her otherwise it would have been gone as soon as she could have blinked. She rather doubted that Uncle Vernon's dislike of the Wizarding World would have stretched to a pile of money. Money was money after all, "Therefore we will be going to Gringotts, the Wizarding bank before we purchase anything,"

"Yes, sir," she didn't bother to argue with him, as he handed her a train ticket, "How did you get to the Dursleys house without attracting any unwanted attention with your clothing, sir?" she finally asked, "You wouldn't have changed if you had come on the train,"

"I apparated," he said, and saw that she looked confused, "I suppose Muggles would call it instantaneous teleportation. But it's extremely uncomfortable for anyone that is unused to it, and I wouldn't like to try it with an eleven year old. Therefore we are taking the train to London to do the shopping you will need," the train pulled in, "And do try not to get lost. You're too small to be noticed immediately if you decided it was wise to wander off," he stepped onto the train.

"I'm not small," the retort left her mouth immediately, "Sorry, sir," she said immediately, climbing onto the train and sitting down next to him. She didn't like the fact that she was small, and she especially didn't like it when people deliberately pointed it out. Professor Riddle already had a newspaper out and was quickly reading it. She looked at the front page, "The pictures are moving,"

"Magic," the corner of his mouth twitched, "Why should they stay still?" he looked over at her, "It's the _Daily Prophet_, the main newspaper of our world. They report anything that they deem important, which isn't an awful lot, but it does keep you vaguely informed about the country," he looked back, "Ministry of Magic has messed everything up as usual,"

"There's a Ministry of Magic, sir?"

"Of course, who else is supposed to run the country?" Professor Riddle asked rhetorically, "They mainly just make sure that our world remains separate from the Muggle world, cover up any damages that happen along the way. And the Minister of Magic is this man," he showed her a picture of a portly man with a bowler hat which was spinning, "Cornelius Fudge. He took over last year. Not exactly my favourite man on earth, but he does the job adequately," Eira got the feeling that this was rather good praise from the man, "Your relatives," he added, still reading the paper, "I couldn't happen to notice the cupboard under the stairs where you retrieved your shoes," she felt herself becoming defensive at his words, "I think you'll find that you'll be moving when you return there in the evening,"

"What did you say to them, sir?" she inquired more calmly than she felt. She didn't think that anyone else knew about the cupboard under the stairs. The Dursleys had certainly told her that she would be staying in it for a very long while if she breathed a word to any of her teachers. She hated that this Professor knew more about her home life than anyone else knew in the whole of the world. She hated feeling this defensive about the stupid cupboard. She didn't want to be dependent on anyone who had helped her.

Professor Riddle still didn't look up from his paper, "I just made it clear that it would be in their best interests to have you move into one of the rooms upstairs," he answered, and she felt slightly sceptical, "This is not me being nice, Miss Potter, this is me merely being practical. I have no intention of telling anyone if you do not wish it," she still wasn't reassured, "You're not the first child to have a less than happy childhood, and I doubt you'll be the last,"

"Thank you," the words were forced from her mouth, but they were genuine. She didn't want a fuss and she didn't want anyone to ask unwanted questions. She wanted it to be just left alone, and she was slightly glad that the professor recognised this.

"We're going to be a while on this train, so why don't you read what exactly you will need to buy when we reach London," he added, "It should all be in your letter," she pulled out the letter that she had placed in her bag and turned to the second page.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Uniform  
__First year students will require:_

_Three sets of plain black work robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags._

_Set Books  
__All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

_Other Equipment_

_1 Wand_

_1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

Eira lowered the parchment to look at professor. She could hardly believe it was possible, "And you say we can buy all this in London?" she asked the professor who nodded slowly, still reading the paper carefully, "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you do at Hogwarts? What subject do you teach?"

He folded the paper away, "This will be my first year back after a prolonged leave of absence," he told her, "Before I left I taught Defence Against the Dark Arts but I am now the History of Magic professor. I think that it would be a more productive job. I finally decided that the previous teacher ought to vacate the post permanently, and as there were no applicants for the job, I took it over. Should be an interesting change for me," he checked his watch again, "We should be getting close, make sure you know everything on that list, and don't lose it,"

"Yes, sir,"

* * *

31st July 1991  
London

Eira hadn't ever been to London before but she thought it would look slightly more impressive than what they were standing in front of, "The Leaky Cauldron," Professor Riddle told her, "A gateway between the Wizarding World and the Muggle World," Eira looked behind her, seeing the many ordinary people milling around, none of them glancing towards the dingy and grimy looking pub, "They can't see it, Muggles are amazingly narrow-minded and blinded when it comes to things like this," he walked towards it, "Come on,"

The inside wasn't much better than the outside. It was very dark and very shabby looking, but Eira could tell that they weren't part of what Professor Riddle called the 'Muggle World'. A gaggle of women with pointed hats were clustered in a corner, pouring over magazines that flashed different colours. A man in a very tall top hat was talking to the man behind the bar, and there was a figure completely covered in what looked like flowing purple drapes at one of the tables, clutching a mug with a gnarled had.

The bartender looked up as Professor Riddle passed him, "I haven't seen you around lately, Tom," he told the Professor who turned towards him, "I did hear that you had come back to teach at Hogwarts this year. Glad to see that you haven't been stolen by another school,"

The professor smiled tightly, "Unfortunately not, Tom," Eira repressed the urge to giggle at the slightly comical situation that had arisen at the warning look from the Professor. Clearly he didn't appreciate the bartender having the same name as him, "Anyway, I'm only passing through. I've been instructed to look after Miss Potter for the day,"

The bartender looked down at Eira, "You must be Lily and James' daughter then," she nodded, "You look very like your mother, except for your hair, she had red hair," he informed her, "Your father had black hair, always made a racket every time he came in here," he straightened up, "Have a good day then, Miss..."

"Eira," she told him, following Professor Riddle, "And thank you," she hadn't ever been told anything proper about her parents before, apart from the lie that they had died in a car crash. So she was grateful that he had told her something, even if it was very small.

She followed the professor through into the back of the pub into a tiny courtyard, "That won't be the last time someone tells you that you look like your mother," he told her, pulling out his wand, "Remember this if you come through here again," he tapped the stonework three time vertically and twice horizontally, before stepping back. Almost at once, the bricks shuffled around, clicking as they pulled back to reveal another street behind the pub, "Diagon Alley," Professor Riddle announced, stepping through.

Eira was lost down the rabbit hole as soon as she stepped into the cobbled street. It was a whole other world, hidden from the rest of London. And there was so much to see. Shops bursting with different objects, all interesting and new to her. Cauldrons that were burnished brightly, silver, gold and brass, shone from one shop, while there was a flurry of all different types of feathers from a shop entitled _Eeylops Owl Emporium. _One shop held a display of broomsticks, one had robes and yet there was still more to see, more shops holding things that Eira couldn't even guess at.

However Riddle and her weren't heading into any of those shops but instead going to the tall white imposing building situated at the very end of the alley. It loomed higher than all the other shops in the street and at the top of its many white steps was a small creature standing by the doors, dressed in a uniform of gold and scarlet, "A goblin," Professor Riddle murmured to Eira as they walked up the steps, "Show respect at all times and only talk when they address you. Do not upset them," Eira nodded quickly, the goblin didn't look like someone that you should provoke.

The inside of the bank was almost as mesmerizing as the outside. It was a large marble hall that was filled with goblins on high stools pouring over precious stones with large magnifying glasses. From the ceiling were immense chandeliers filled with glittering strands of stones. The professor walked up to one of the goblins that didn't appear to be doing anything, before inclining his head to him. Eira quickly followed, hanging back slightly, "I would like to draw some money from Miss Eira Potter's vault," he said, before holding up a small golden key, "I hope everything is in order?"

The goblin picked up the key, looking at it carefully, "It is indeed," he said, slowly and Eira restrained the urge to shiver at the cold words, "And welcome back Professor Riddle, would you like to visit your vault as well on the journey?"

"Thank you," the Professor nodded. The goblin clapped his hands and another one appeared to show them to a small cart, "You may feel a little ill on this journey," Eira frowned but got in anyway. She soon learnt what he meant when the cart suddenly veered along the railroad tracks at an immense speed. Eira clutched the side of the tightly, feeling the cold wind whip her face sharply, and she lost track of which way they were going quite soon after they had started. All she knew was that they were heading down at a very fast speed.

They stopped with a juddering halt outside of a vault, "Vault 687," the goblin said to them.

"Thank you, Griphook," Professor Riddle said, getting out of the cart, "Remember that you need to save most of this for the next seven years of school, so don't take out more than you need to," Eira stood next to him as Griphook inserted the key into the door, unlocking it. Eira couldn't help but gasp at what was inside. Mounds of gold coins, columns of silver and heaps of tiny bronze coins, "Gold is Galleons, silver is Sickles and bronze are Knuts. Seventeen sickles to a galleon, and twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle,"

It couldn't be real, if the Dursleys even knew about this...well she had no intention of telling them at all. She gathered some into a moneybag and then left soon after, back on the speeding cart, going further down. Eira suddenly wished that she had a coat, because it was starting to get seriously cold now. Griphook suddenly stopped the cart again in front of another vault, "Vault 514," he announced.

"Stay here," the Professor told Eira as he got out of the cart.

"Where else am I going to go?" she mumbled to herself but by the sharp look he gave her, she gathered that he had heard her. He disappeared into the vault, and she was left with Griphook. Looking over the edge of the cart, she could only see darkness and the same when she looked up, "How far down are we?"

"Many miles," Griphook answered to her, "And it goes many more miles down," Eira gulped a little, moving back from the edge, "You wouldn't want to fall out of the cart,"

"I bet you've given a lot of children nightmares about that," she remarked, and the goblin grinned, showing pointed teeth, "I think I'm safer in the middle, thank you very much," the professor soon returned to the cart and after a wild ride back up to the surface they were quickly deposited in the hall of Gringotts, "Thank you," she called back to Griphook before he drove the cart away.

Professor Riddle was looking at his watch again, "We have enough time to get everything in time," he said, as they walked out of the bank, "I think we'll start at Madam Malkin's,"

* * *

**I was going to continue this further, but I think I like to update quicker than the chapters being longer.**

**Till next time**

**Next Time: Diagon Alley, Wands, and Very Important Information**


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